AFI – Bringing the Informal Sector Onboard: Challenges, Opportunities and Policy Solutions
April 2021
Approximately 2 billion people work in the informal sector globally, comprising 61% of the world’s workforce. Large-scale employment and economic activity occurs informally, especially the case in the Global South. AFI commissioned Samuel Hall to create practical knowledge products on how financial sector policymakers and regulators can better integrate the informal economy into the financial inclusion agenda and the formal sector. The "Bringing the Informal Sector Onboard" Guideline Note and Toolkit are both based on shared experiences between global AFI member countries, learning from specific challenges, opportunities and policy intervention mixtures across developing and emerging economies. This peer learning on bringing the informal sector onboard enhances knowledge and formulates usable policymaking tools, with direct impact on poverty reduction, sustainable and inclusive growth, and financial inclusion.